A public art project called Art of the Game is installing 23 giant artist-designed soccer balls across all five New York City boroughs and New Jersey, coinciding with the World Cup. The sculptures, created by artists including Katherine Bernhardt, Hank Willis Thomas, Eddie Martinez, Bony Ramirez, Tomokazu Matsuyama, Futura 2000, and Fred Wilson, will be placed in parks, plazas, and transit hubs such as Rockefeller Plaza, Grand Central's Pershing Square Plaza, and outside MetLife Stadium. The project was developed by the Jersey City-based nonprofit ARTS 14C, with artists nominated by institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum, El Museo del Barrio, and the Brooklyn Museum.
The project matters because it transforms a major sporting event into a region-wide, accessible visual art exhibition, engaging diverse communities across multiple cities. It also carries a poignant legacy as the final philanthropic initiative championed by legendary arts patron Agnes Gund before her death in September 2024. Additionally, several of the sculptures will be auctioned through Christie's, with proceeds benefiting artists and arts education programs, linking public art directly to arts funding and education.